Nehemiah 2:11-20 - Building a Church through F. A. I. T. H.
Nehemiah 2:11-20 - Building a Church through F. A. I. T. H.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
May 15, 2011 AM
We have all heard the old adage that states, “Heaven helps those who help themselves!” However, many might be surprised to learn that it is not found anywhere in the Bible. In fact, it comes from an Aesop’s fable! The story does give out some good advice. It seems that a teamster got his heavy wagon stuck deep in the mud. As he stood there, helpless, and crying out for help, Hercules shows up! Hercules looks disgustingly at the man and tells him, “Put your shoulder to the wheel and goad your horses. Then, call on Hercules to assist you. If you won’t lift a finger to help yourself, you can’t expect Hercules or anyone else to come to your aid.”
Some mistakenly think that faith works that way that they have to be good before God loves them. They have to “help” themselves before God will. This simply is not true. God already loves us, if he did not, he would not have sent Jesus to die for us! However, after we place our faith in Christ, we need to put our shoulder to the wheel and trust God! In building a church or a relationship with God, FAITH is the key. Nehemiah teaches us, through his actions, how faith works. Let’s find out what Nehemiah teaches us about Building a Church through F. A. I. T. H.
READ: Nehemiah 2:11-20
It is amazing to me that so many families have no budget. How would you feel if you found out your Church was giving money to the Mormon Ward down the street? Would you become angered? If so why? Because we understand that kind of thing should not be part of our Church’s plan and it should not be part of our budget! Yet, while many of us demand responsibility from our Church, we have no vision, no plan for our life! Look at Nehemiah. Faith for Nehemiah meant that he…
I. Formed a Godly plan! (Vv. 11-12)
1. You will have no idea where you’ve been until you know where you are going!
1) For Nehemiah, God’s plan was to use him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem so that the Israelites would begin to rely on God again. Yet notice that Nehemiah tells no one else at this point, “I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem.” Why would Nehemiah want to keep the building a secret? I believe it was because there were already folks who would not want it to be built, there were those who would think it could not be done, and there were those who would be ready to take advantage of the situation for their own personal gain.
2) Proverbs reminds us that, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21) However, Nehemiah also knew that God also gives us this promise concerning our lives: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things that you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3) God’s purpose prevails, but he also has great things in store for us! Nehemiah planned according to what God’s purpose was.
EXAMPLE: Nehemiah could have gone off half-baked and determined that God didn’t know what he was doing concerning rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Instead, we discover that Nehemiah formulated a plan with God’s help. When I was 15-years-old I thought I knew everything! Adults were stupid, didn’t understand, and I was convinced that they could only see their own little narrow-minded viewpoint. Why couldn’t I hitchhike across the country, with three other 15-year-olds? (My mother probably saved my life, if not a lot of personal pain.) Hindsight is always better than foresight. Our problem is that we often act immature when it comes to asking God to help us formulate a plan for our lives or our Church. Strong faith comes by forming a Godly plan.
Nehemiah, after having a plan, didn’t run off and immediately to buy materials, hire workers, and place stones. Instead, he stepped back and took a good hard look at what needed to be done. This is good advice for building a strong Church or a strong faith. Nehemiah formed his plan and then he…
II. Assessed the situation! (Vv. 13-16)
1. The proper time to do the proper thing is before you begin!
1) Nehemiah understood that something done right today, doesn’t bring trouble tomorrow. He wanted to know exactly what resources it would take to rebuild the walls! He assessed the situation by walking the walls and looking at what actually needed to be done! He counted the cost involved. Far too often folks are unwilling to “count the cost” involved in their schemes.
2) Jesus shared with His disciples about assessing the situation when he asked them, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost...?” (Luke 14:28) Assessing the situation is good godly advice!
EXAMPLE: Many live their lives in a moment-by-moment feel good fashion. “If it feels good do it!” is today’s mantra. The Bible not only warns against such an attitude, it teaches us how extremely foolish it can be. Remember, what were Noah’s neighbors doing while Noah was building the ark? They were living for the moment! You cannot look around in our day and age and not think that the storm clouds are not gathering. We have a nation in spiritual, physical, and financial crisis! During such times as these, a Church that needs to move forward, a family that needs to financially survive, or an individual who desires a deep relationship with God must assess the situation like Nehemiah did. A strong faith comes from a daily assessment!
Nehemiah formed a plan, and assessed the situation--he also understood something else that was very important. Nehemiah had come to realize that he could never do it all by himself! This flies in the face of our independent American rugged individualism! However, the Bible doesn’t teach rugged individualism! It teaches mutual dependence and unity: a dependency on God and unified spirit with fellow believers! Nehemiah teaches us about building a strong Church or faith when he…
III. Invited people to join him! (Vv. 17-18)
1. Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; and working together is success!
1) Nehemiah understood that rebuilding the walls had to be a community effort. Notice how he tells them about the situation, “"You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." There could be no Lone Rangers in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. It could mean your death and the destruction of all you had accomplished. Spiritually, the same is true for the church today. Strong cords are formed when several strands are wrapped together, when they are unified in their purpose.
2) Nehemiah’s faith grew therefore because he was willing to do what many Christians are not willing to do--he was willing to invite other people to join him! Realize that Nehemiah also elicited a response from those he invited (v. 17)! He literally is saying, “Now that you know, you should respond.” Nehemiah believed, as I do, namely that God’s people need to be involved in building God’s house for his purpose! Paul reminds us, “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (Romans 12:4-5) Church members all belong to one another! The people responded by saying, “"Let us start rebuilding!" We should all join together to build God’s house!
EXAMPLE: Strong faith comes when people begin to depend on God and one another. Any Boy Scout worth their salt soon learns that in order to start a fire is only part of the picture; you also have to keep it going. It may take only a spark to get a fire going, but it takes many pieces of wood to keep a flame burning. A single flaming log is soon snuffed out, smokes, and grows cold without more wood being added to fuel the flames! Christians who begin to think that they can “go it alone” are soon doomed to spiritual frustration and failure. God intended that we work as Christ’s Body in the world. Grace Baptist cannot build, grow, or be the strong church God desires without her people coming, contributing, encouraging, and helping one another! Nehemiah teaches us that strong faith comes when we invite others to join us.
When Nehemiah took the people into his confidence about rebuilding the walls, what was the first thing that happened? Everyone was excited but soon there were those who “mocked and ridiculed” them. When God wants to use His people to grow in faith, there will always be those who oppose them. Rather than back away, we find that Nehemiah…
IV. Took on the opposition! (Vv. 19-20)
1. The critics of God always sit on the snide-lines!
1) Nehemiah understood where the opposition was coming from and why--they weren’t God’s people following God’s plan! In fact, we find him bluntly telling them, “…you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it!” These men were Ammonites and Arabs! They were not even from that area! They had been robbers, thieves, and had only recently come into the area in order to gain some kind of foothold there. They were in direct opposition to what God desired for his people. The Bible calls it rebellion.
2) Ungodly people always hate godly things. Jesus said that Christians would be “hated by all nations because of” him! (Matthew 24:9) However, there can be Ammonites and Arabs among Christians as well. Here’s what I mean: There can be folks who are in direct rebellion to what God desires to do in his church! They mock God’s leaders or his people as they work to build his church. Notice, they vainly tried to say that Nehemiah was “rebelling against the king.” Nehemiah meets them head on, “The God of heaven will give us success.”
EXAMPLE: Anyone who has raised children understands that rebellion can be silent or loud! Children can be quiet outwardly because they are really inwardly rebellious. Others can be very expressive in their rebellion! A good parent meets rebellion head-on. The same can be true for opposition to what God desires to do in our church or our lives. It can be silent or loud. We must be willing to meet it head on in a godly way. Nehemiah took on the opposition because he knew what God desired! Faith does that. It meets any opposition to what God desires head on and straight forward just as Nehemiah did.
I know that when Nehemiah began to express his plans to rebuild the walls, people began to make excuses as to why it was impossible. I can hear them now: “We do not have enough money.” “There aren’t enough workers.” “We are all busy and we do not have enough time.” Excuses haven’t changed much, have they? That’s why Nehemiah immediately told them about how God had it all worked out. Nehemiah’s faith could have been distracted, but he…
V. Heard God instead of the world! (V. 20)
1. A Christian’s motto should be the same as RCA’s--He hears his Master’s voice!
1) How did Nehemiah get to where he was? Not by listening to his detractors! Detractors belong in de-field! There will always be spiritually deaf people who tell those who have ears to hear, not to listen to what God is asking them to do. Now we know what we need to do in order for us to be sure it is God speaking and not our own selfish selves. The Holy Spirit will work through our prayer, the Bible, fellow believers, and past experiences to show us what we need to do. Remember, Nehemiah retorted, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding…!”
2) The problem of Christianity and much of the church today is that we tend to listen more to the world than to what God is telling us! Isaiah and Jesus warned that the world would be “ever hearing but never understanding... they have become (spiritually) callused!” (Isaiah 6:9 and Matthew 13:14)
3) Those who refuse to listen to God’s voice will not share in His blessings--that was Nehemiah’s message and it should be ours as well. Jesus said that his sheep hear His voice. (John 10:2-5) We are to listen to God and not the world!
EXAMPLE: Have you ever tried to get a child’s attention when they are playing a video game? It’s like talking to a wall. (I confess that I can be that way too when football is on!) When a parent or a wife thinks that you may not be listening to what they said, what do they ask? “Did you hear what I said?” Why? They expect a response. I can speak to you about building a great Church or having strong personal faith, but hearing isn’t a passive activity--you have to respond. You must be willing to hear God instead of the world! Nehemiah heard God and followed Him, how about you?
Conclusion:
Father Kolbe always listened to God rather than the world. He was like that. In 1939, most Poles listened to Hitler as he ravaged their country. Father Kolbe soon found himself a prisoner of the Nazis. He continued to follow God’s plan. While waiting to be punished with the rest of his cellblock, because of an escape that had occurred, men were picked to die of starvation in a cellar. One man pleaded not to be chosen because of his wife and children. Father Kolbe formed a plan, assessed his situation, invited others to encourage him and decided to take on the opposition, after hearing God. He took the man’s place. Where screams and cursing usually were heard before, now there were the strains of hymns being sung to praise God! Father Kolbe was the last one out of ten to die in that cellar. Hitler’s memory lives on because he was a violent ungodly fiend. Father Kolbe’s memory lives on because of his strong faith in God. Nehemiah would understand.
Nehemiah teaches us about a strong faith and building the Church. 1) We need to FORM a plan, 2) ASSESS the situation, 3) INVITE people to join us, 4) TAKE on the opposition, and finally 5) HEAR God speaking instead of the world.
----
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 yearsin Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causesand maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2011 by LeeHemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless youquote the entire article and have my permission.
By Pastor Lee Hemen
May 15, 2011 AM
We have all heard the old adage that states, “Heaven helps those who help themselves!” However, many might be surprised to learn that it is not found anywhere in the Bible. In fact, it comes from an Aesop’s fable! The story does give out some good advice. It seems that a teamster got his heavy wagon stuck deep in the mud. As he stood there, helpless, and crying out for help, Hercules shows up! Hercules looks disgustingly at the man and tells him, “Put your shoulder to the wheel and goad your horses. Then, call on Hercules to assist you. If you won’t lift a finger to help yourself, you can’t expect Hercules or anyone else to come to your aid.”
Some mistakenly think that faith works that way that they have to be good before God loves them. They have to “help” themselves before God will. This simply is not true. God already loves us, if he did not, he would not have sent Jesus to die for us! However, after we place our faith in Christ, we need to put our shoulder to the wheel and trust God! In building a church or a relationship with God, FAITH is the key. Nehemiah teaches us, through his actions, how faith works. Let’s find out what Nehemiah teaches us about Building a Church through F. A. I. T. H.
READ: Nehemiah 2:11-20
It is amazing to me that so many families have no budget. How would you feel if you found out your Church was giving money to the Mormon Ward down the street? Would you become angered? If so why? Because we understand that kind of thing should not be part of our Church’s plan and it should not be part of our budget! Yet, while many of us demand responsibility from our Church, we have no vision, no plan for our life! Look at Nehemiah. Faith for Nehemiah meant that he…
I. Formed a Godly plan! (Vv. 11-12)
1. You will have no idea where you’ve been until you know where you are going!
1) For Nehemiah, God’s plan was to use him to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem so that the Israelites would begin to rely on God again. Yet notice that Nehemiah tells no one else at this point, “I had not told anyone what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem.” Why would Nehemiah want to keep the building a secret? I believe it was because there were already folks who would not want it to be built, there were those who would think it could not be done, and there were those who would be ready to take advantage of the situation for their own personal gain.
2) Proverbs reminds us that, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” (Proverbs 19:21) However, Nehemiah also knew that God also gives us this promise concerning our lives: “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things that you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3) God’s purpose prevails, but he also has great things in store for us! Nehemiah planned according to what God’s purpose was.
EXAMPLE: Nehemiah could have gone off half-baked and determined that God didn’t know what he was doing concerning rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Instead, we discover that Nehemiah formulated a plan with God’s help. When I was 15-years-old I thought I knew everything! Adults were stupid, didn’t understand, and I was convinced that they could only see their own little narrow-minded viewpoint. Why couldn’t I hitchhike across the country, with three other 15-year-olds? (My mother probably saved my life, if not a lot of personal pain.) Hindsight is always better than foresight. Our problem is that we often act immature when it comes to asking God to help us formulate a plan for our lives or our Church. Strong faith comes by forming a Godly plan.
Nehemiah, after having a plan, didn’t run off and immediately to buy materials, hire workers, and place stones. Instead, he stepped back and took a good hard look at what needed to be done. This is good advice for building a strong Church or a strong faith. Nehemiah formed his plan and then he…
II. Assessed the situation! (Vv. 13-16)
1. The proper time to do the proper thing is before you begin!
1) Nehemiah understood that something done right today, doesn’t bring trouble tomorrow. He wanted to know exactly what resources it would take to rebuild the walls! He assessed the situation by walking the walls and looking at what actually needed to be done! He counted the cost involved. Far too often folks are unwilling to “count the cost” involved in their schemes.
2) Jesus shared with His disciples about assessing the situation when he asked them, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost...?” (Luke 14:28) Assessing the situation is good godly advice!
EXAMPLE: Many live their lives in a moment-by-moment feel good fashion. “If it feels good do it!” is today’s mantra. The Bible not only warns against such an attitude, it teaches us how extremely foolish it can be. Remember, what were Noah’s neighbors doing while Noah was building the ark? They were living for the moment! You cannot look around in our day and age and not think that the storm clouds are not gathering. We have a nation in spiritual, physical, and financial crisis! During such times as these, a Church that needs to move forward, a family that needs to financially survive, or an individual who desires a deep relationship with God must assess the situation like Nehemiah did. A strong faith comes from a daily assessment!
Nehemiah formed a plan, and assessed the situation--he also understood something else that was very important. Nehemiah had come to realize that he could never do it all by himself! This flies in the face of our independent American rugged individualism! However, the Bible doesn’t teach rugged individualism! It teaches mutual dependence and unity: a dependency on God and unified spirit with fellow believers! Nehemiah teaches us about building a strong Church or faith when he…
III. Invited people to join him! (Vv. 17-18)
1. Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; and working together is success!
1) Nehemiah understood that rebuilding the walls had to be a community effort. Notice how he tells them about the situation, “"You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace." There could be no Lone Rangers in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. It could mean your death and the destruction of all you had accomplished. Spiritually, the same is true for the church today. Strong cords are formed when several strands are wrapped together, when they are unified in their purpose.
2) Nehemiah’s faith grew therefore because he was willing to do what many Christians are not willing to do--he was willing to invite other people to join him! Realize that Nehemiah also elicited a response from those he invited (v. 17)! He literally is saying, “Now that you know, you should respond.” Nehemiah believed, as I do, namely that God’s people need to be involved in building God’s house for his purpose! Paul reminds us, “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” (Romans 12:4-5) Church members all belong to one another! The people responded by saying, “"Let us start rebuilding!" We should all join together to build God’s house!
EXAMPLE: Strong faith comes when people begin to depend on God and one another. Any Boy Scout worth their salt soon learns that in order to start a fire is only part of the picture; you also have to keep it going. It may take only a spark to get a fire going, but it takes many pieces of wood to keep a flame burning. A single flaming log is soon snuffed out, smokes, and grows cold without more wood being added to fuel the flames! Christians who begin to think that they can “go it alone” are soon doomed to spiritual frustration and failure. God intended that we work as Christ’s Body in the world. Grace Baptist cannot build, grow, or be the strong church God desires without her people coming, contributing, encouraging, and helping one another! Nehemiah teaches us that strong faith comes when we invite others to join us.
When Nehemiah took the people into his confidence about rebuilding the walls, what was the first thing that happened? Everyone was excited but soon there were those who “mocked and ridiculed” them. When God wants to use His people to grow in faith, there will always be those who oppose them. Rather than back away, we find that Nehemiah…
IV. Took on the opposition! (Vv. 19-20)
1. The critics of God always sit on the snide-lines!
1) Nehemiah understood where the opposition was coming from and why--they weren’t God’s people following God’s plan! In fact, we find him bluntly telling them, “…you have no share in Jerusalem or any claim or historic right to it!” These men were Ammonites and Arabs! They were not even from that area! They had been robbers, thieves, and had only recently come into the area in order to gain some kind of foothold there. They were in direct opposition to what God desired for his people. The Bible calls it rebellion.
2) Ungodly people always hate godly things. Jesus said that Christians would be “hated by all nations because of” him! (Matthew 24:9) However, there can be Ammonites and Arabs among Christians as well. Here’s what I mean: There can be folks who are in direct rebellion to what God desires to do in his church! They mock God’s leaders or his people as they work to build his church. Notice, they vainly tried to say that Nehemiah was “rebelling against the king.” Nehemiah meets them head on, “The God of heaven will give us success.”
EXAMPLE: Anyone who has raised children understands that rebellion can be silent or loud! Children can be quiet outwardly because they are really inwardly rebellious. Others can be very expressive in their rebellion! A good parent meets rebellion head-on. The same can be true for opposition to what God desires to do in our church or our lives. It can be silent or loud. We must be willing to meet it head on in a godly way. Nehemiah took on the opposition because he knew what God desired! Faith does that. It meets any opposition to what God desires head on and straight forward just as Nehemiah did.
I know that when Nehemiah began to express his plans to rebuild the walls, people began to make excuses as to why it was impossible. I can hear them now: “We do not have enough money.” “There aren’t enough workers.” “We are all busy and we do not have enough time.” Excuses haven’t changed much, have they? That’s why Nehemiah immediately told them about how God had it all worked out. Nehemiah’s faith could have been distracted, but he…
V. Heard God instead of the world! (V. 20)
1. A Christian’s motto should be the same as RCA’s--He hears his Master’s voice!
1) How did Nehemiah get to where he was? Not by listening to his detractors! Detractors belong in de-field! There will always be spiritually deaf people who tell those who have ears to hear, not to listen to what God is asking them to do. Now we know what we need to do in order for us to be sure it is God speaking and not our own selfish selves. The Holy Spirit will work through our prayer, the Bible, fellow believers, and past experiences to show us what we need to do. Remember, Nehemiah retorted, “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding…!”
2) The problem of Christianity and much of the church today is that we tend to listen more to the world than to what God is telling us! Isaiah and Jesus warned that the world would be “ever hearing but never understanding... they have become (spiritually) callused!” (Isaiah 6:9 and Matthew 13:14)
3) Those who refuse to listen to God’s voice will not share in His blessings--that was Nehemiah’s message and it should be ours as well. Jesus said that his sheep hear His voice. (John 10:2-5) We are to listen to God and not the world!
EXAMPLE: Have you ever tried to get a child’s attention when they are playing a video game? It’s like talking to a wall. (I confess that I can be that way too when football is on!) When a parent or a wife thinks that you may not be listening to what they said, what do they ask? “Did you hear what I said?” Why? They expect a response. I can speak to you about building a great Church or having strong personal faith, but hearing isn’t a passive activity--you have to respond. You must be willing to hear God instead of the world! Nehemiah heard God and followed Him, how about you?
Conclusion:
Father Kolbe always listened to God rather than the world. He was like that. In 1939, most Poles listened to Hitler as he ravaged their country. Father Kolbe soon found himself a prisoner of the Nazis. He continued to follow God’s plan. While waiting to be punished with the rest of his cellblock, because of an escape that had occurred, men were picked to die of starvation in a cellar. One man pleaded not to be chosen because of his wife and children. Father Kolbe formed a plan, assessed his situation, invited others to encourage him and decided to take on the opposition, after hearing God. He took the man’s place. Where screams and cursing usually were heard before, now there were the strains of hymns being sung to praise God! Father Kolbe was the last one out of ten to die in that cellar. Hitler’s memory lives on because he was a violent ungodly fiend. Father Kolbe’s memory lives on because of his strong faith in God. Nehemiah would understand.
Nehemiah teaches us about a strong faith and building the Church. 1) We need to FORM a plan, 2) ASSESS the situation, 3) INVITE people to join us, 4) TAKE on the opposition, and finally 5) HEAR God speaking instead of the world.
----
Pastor Lee Hemen has been the outspoken pastor of the same church for 25 yearsin Vancouver, WA. He writes regularly on spirituality and conservative causesand maintains several web blogs. This article is copyrighted © 2011 by LeeHemen and is the sole property of Lee Hemen, and may not be used unless youquote the entire article and have my permission.
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